OpenStax Psychology 2e, Chapter 3 - Biopsychology
After this lesson you will be able to…
- Understand how environmental factors influence the expression and adaptiveness of genetic traits.
- Learn how genes set potential boundaries, but environment dictates the actual outcome of psychological traits.
- Understand the all-or-none electrical firing mechanism of neurons using a simple analogy.
- Discover how the myelin sheath insulates neurons for fast signal transmission and what happens when it degrades.
- Learn how neurons communicate across the synaptic gap using chemical messengers and a lock-and-key mechanism.
- Explore how psychiatric medications like agonists, antagonists, and SSRIs affect neurotransmitter activity.
- Understand the autonomic nervous system's role in unconscious functions and the fight-or-flight stress response.
- Learn how early brain function was mapped by studying damage, exemplified by the case of Phineas Gage.
- Explore how brain hemispheres specialize and communicate, and the bizarre effects of a severed corpus callosum.
- Differentiate between explicit (conscious) and procedural (skill-based) memory using a famous patient case.
- Understand the brain stem's role in basic survival functions and its implications in a vegetative state.
- Learn how the endocrine system uses slow-acting hormones for widespread, long-lasting effects on mood and behavior.